We have treated over 700 children with Burkitt’s lymphoma at the 3 Baptist hospitals of N.W. and S.W. Cameroon. The one year survival of these children is over 60%: relapse rate after one year is less than 5%.
These are the best treatment results recorded in resource-poor African hospitals and a great credit to the small Baptist hospitals which receive very little if any government financial support.
Our nurses spend considerable time counselling “new” parents when children are first admitted. The nurses have conducted a survey in which parents were asked if they have consulted a village practitioner (bush doctor) and if so what diagnosis was given. 30% of village practitioners consulted gave the diagnosis of “witchcraft”: none used the word “cancer”, this being an unknown concept in their culture. So as part of their lengthy initial counselling the nurses try to convey the concept of “cancer”, explaining that the disease is not due to witchcraft, curses, poisoning or anything that the child or parents have done.
The nurses are experts at this but sometimes the message does not penetrate far. I have found that when a child (whom we cannot cure) is discharged with palliative care the parents will return straight to the village practitioner who will say, “Of course, this is witchcraft and not a problem that those hospital doctors are competent to deal with”. We cannot blame the parents who, just like parents in the UK, will do anything they can to find help for their child.
In November we re visited village practitioner and fon (chief) “Dr” Peter Kimbi who had previously referred a patient from his village. This boy (in the photo) is now well 2 years after chemotherapy. Peter Kimbi told us of a meeting of village practitioners in the S.W. and invited our nurse, Patience Nfor to address them. We are changing things, slowly!
“Dr” Peter Kimbi (village practitioner and fon), Prof Hesseling and patient
Note: in the picture Peter Kimbi is wearing a black hat with a brilliant red feather on the right hand side. The feather is from the “green” turaco (called “lourie” in S.Africa). Only fons (chiefs) may wear feathers from this bird. There are big fons and lesser fons – I think Peter Kimbi belongs to the lower ranking.
Paul Wharin Dec. 2011